Republican state convention in May could mean Midlander represents at national level

By Cassie Burton cburton@mrt.com

Published 6:44 am, Sunday, April 17, 2016

Image 1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

(File Photo) Sunset reflected in a rain puddle at the corner of W. Missouri and S. Carrizo Tuesday, May 14, 2013. James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

(File Photo) Sunset reflected in a rain puddle at the corner of W. Missouri and S. Carrizo Tuesday, May 14, 2013. James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

Republican state convention in May could mean Midlander represents at national level

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

The Texas primaries took place more than a month ago, but the next step in the Republican process for the heavily red state is coming in less than a month: the Texas Republican Party State Convention.

As for who will represent the 11th Congressional District where Midland resides, no one knows. There’s no official ballot of those running to be a congressional or at-large delegate. No one will know until the May 12 convention in Dallas, according to Midland County Republican Party Chairman James Beauchamp.

“Until you get to the convention, you don’t know who all is running,” Beauchamp said. “People can say they will be there ahead of time and try to work that progress, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that’s going to happen.”

Three delegates and three alternates will be chosen from each congressional district. The six delegates will represent their district at the Republican National Convention, which takes place in Cleveland, Ohio on July 18-21.

Rhonda J. Lacy, currently on the State Republican Executive Committee for Senate District 31, has been the only Midlander who publicly said she will go to Dallas in May to try to become a delegate to the national convention. There are 28 other counties within District 11, Lacy said.

“We all touch base with each other. It’s not a big secret or anything,” Lacy said. “We just want the strongest delegation that we can have going to the national convention.”

Lacy said that she knew the responsibilities for a congressional delegate beforehand, having been involved in politics since she was a teenager. She also went to the Republican National Convention several years ago as a visitor. She considered that a strength.

“I don’t really want somebody green to go to the national convention as a delegate,” Lacy said. “They really need to have walked through the process. ... There’s a lot of responsibilities that’s on the backs of every delegate there.”

At the May convention, there will be a two-step process to select the delegates who will represent their district on the national level. First, there will be congressional caucuses, when state delegates like Lacy can each give a short speech and pass out fliers about their qualifications, Lacy said.

Lacy said she had already reached out to every county’s Republican Party chairman and other Republican leaders in every county of the 11th Congressional district. She also plans to pass out fliers once at the state convention.

“I’ve talked to several people in all of our counties and other people who are also from the other parts of the district that are going to be running. We want to spread that responsibility and that privilege around to many people,” Lacy said. “You need to represent your whole district.”

Delegates within the same congressional district who are at the state convention will then cast their votes on who among them they want to represent their congressional district at the national convention, Beauchamp said. Three delegates and three alternates will emerge; the alternates will serve as stand-bys in case a delegate can’t or won’t vote at the national election, Lacy and Beauchamp said.

While many delegates will have an expressed preference for one presidential candidate in particular, it will not necessarily matter at the national level, Beauchamp said.

“Texas delegates are bound to vote vis-à-vis the results of our primary election in the first two rounds of voting,” Beauchamp said.

Like Midland County, most counties in Texas voted Ted Cruz the winner of the March 1 primary, with Trump often coming in second. Two of the three delegates representing the 11th district sent to the national convention must vote Cruz and one must vote Trump, per rules on the Texas GOP’s website.

The second step of the selection process will determine at-large or “uncommitted” delegates. The SREC will choose at-large delegates, although none will come from “our area,” SREC member Lacy said.

Per the Texas GOP’s website, official rules are that 108 congressional delegates and 44 at-large delegates will go to the national convention along with three Republican National Committee members (the state party’s chair, one man and one woman).

A candidate for the latter was in Midland last Wednesday. Rick Figueroa, of Brenham, spoke at the Midland County Republican Women luncheon to explain why he should be chosen as Republican National Committeeman by congressional delegates.

“I’m going to represent Texas, I’m going to fight for Texas, I’m going to make sure Texas has a strong voice,” Figueroa said after the luncheon.

Chief among them were the need for more Latino voices in the Republican National Committee, which has 168 seats: three from each state, three from five U.S. territories and three from Washington, D.C. There previously have been three Latinos on the committee, which Figueroa said “must change” because Latino values and Republican values are “aligning so well.”

“I’m going into change the system to get a different output,” Figueroa said. “There’s 168 members (on the RNC). We need Latino voices in there.”

Another was his life experiences: Figueroa was raised by a “hardworking single mom” in government housing, worked as a day laborer and now owns a ranch as well as working in the financial sector.

“You don’t have to dismiss the country club owner to represent the day laborer, or vice versa - you can do both,” Figueroa said. “I feel like I have that opportunity because of my experiences to represent a broad, broad range of people.”

Lacy hosted Figueroa at the event, according to a post on Figueroa’s Facebook page.